By Fatima Sajida Waziri
Professor Adenike Osofisan, Nigeria’s first female Professor of Computer Science in Africa, has called for an end to the rivalry and discrimination between polytechnic and university graduates, describing both systems as indispensable to Nigeria’s economic growth.
In an exclusive interview with _Education Monitor_, Prof. Osofisan, who began her academic career at The Polytechnic, Ibadan, said the two institutions have distinct roles that must be respected and not merged. “Both systems are essential. The polytechnic emphasizes practical skills. A graduate can immediately take up a job. The university emphasizes the theory that produces and improves those skills,” she said. “We need both. The polytechnic should not try to become a university, and the university should not try to become a polytechnic.”
She also urged the Federal Government to stop looking down on polytechnic graduates. “Polytechnic graduates should not be looked down upon. They have a vital role to play in national development,” she said. “I experienced this bias because I came from the polytechnic system. Even as the first female PhD holder in Computer Science in Nigeria, I faced rejection because of my background. That mindset must change. Both pathways are critical to national development.”
Prof. Osofisan described her path to becoming a professor as “divine” and difficult. She was admitted to the University of Ife, now Obafemi Awolowo University, in 1972 to study Physics. “There was no Computer Science programme at the time. After my first year, a relative told me Computer Science would be introduced. I switched from Physics to Computer Science,” she recalled. “What should have taken three years took me 25 years because it was later made a four-year course. It was a lot of work, but it worked out for good.”
She started her career at The Polytechnic, Ibadan, where she rose to the position of Senior Principal Lecturer. She was later nominated to become Rector of a federal polytechnic, but was advised to remain in Ibadan. “I moved to the University of Ibadan and had to start again as a Senior Lecturer. I faced significant opposition. There were moments I wept and asked, ‘Why did I come to UI?’” she said. “But I resolved not to go back. A senior colleague told me, ‘You are not going back to Egypt.’ That gave me resolve. I told myself that to reach my destination, I had to cross the Red Sea, cross the River Jordan, and bring down the wall of Jericho. By the grace of God, I became a Professor.”
It was during a visit to the University of Cape Town that she learned she was the first Professor of Computer Science in Africa.
Beyond teaching and research, Prof. Osofisan said her greatest fulfillment today is mentoring and raising other women in technology. She served as the first female President of the Computer Professionals Registration Council of Nigeria, CPN, and is one of three women coordinating Information Technology for Africa under the International Federation for Information Processing, IFIP. “When I became President of CPN, I made it a point that women would continue to emerge in leadership. After my tenure, a man succeeded me, and then a woman succeeded him,” she said. “I have worked to bring more Nigerian women into IFIP. Seeing women succeed gives me great joy.”
She had a direct message for young women in academia. “They should not allow any man to look down on them. They should fight. I fought. I have done most of the fighting for them. People say I fight a lot. I ask, why wouldn’t I fight? We are colleagues, not wives. So you better get that into your head. We are colleagues.”